View source for Olmo grapes

{{Short description|Variety of grape}}
[[Image:OLMO HAROLD 1978.jpg|right|thumb|270px|Dr. Harold Olmo]]
'''Olmo grapes''' are [[wine]] and table [[grape varieties]] produced by [[University of California, Davis]] viticulturist Dr. [[Harold Olmo]]. Over the course of his nearly 50-year career, Dr. Olmo bred a wide variety of both grapes by means of both [[crossing (vine)|crossing]] varieties from the same species or creating [[hybrid grapes]] from [[cultivars]] of different ''[[Vitis]]'' species.
Over 30 new grape varieties were created by Dr. Olmo and introduced to the [[California wine]] and table grape industries.<ref name=" grape variety creation ">{{cite book|title= The encyclopedia of fruit & nuts |publisher=  CABI International|year=2008|isbn= 978-0-85199-638-7|author= J Janick, James Troop Professor in Horticulture, Purdue University, USA, R E Paull, Department Chair, Professor of Horticulture, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA |page= 918}}</ref>
==Ruby Cabernet==
[[File:Ruby Cabernet - Winemakers Seal - Gallo family - E & J Gallo Winery.jpg|left|thumb|Ruby Cabernet wine.]]
[[Ruby Cabernet]] is the most notable and widely planted Olmo grape. It is a cross between the ''[[Vitis vinifera]]'' varieties [[Cabernet Sauvignon]] and [[Carignan]] that was first trialed by Dr. Olmo in 1936 before being released in 1948. The grape is primarily used in blending, adding color and tartness, but producers such as [[E & J Gallo Winery]] have produced varietal wines from the grape. According to wine expert [[Jancis Robinson]], Ruby Cabernet can have some [[aromas (wine)|aromas]] reminiscent of a young [[Cabernet Sauvignon]] with the color of a Carignan but it lacks the structure and [[body (wine)|body]] to produce premium wines.<ref name="Jancis">Robinson, Jancis ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' Mitchell Beazley pgs 226-227, 264-265  1986 {{ISBN|1-85732-999-6}}</ref>
In California, the variety is widely planted in the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]] where it can withstand the hot [[continental climate (wine)|continental climate]] of the valley and still produce [[harvest (wine)|harvest]] yields of 6 to 9 tons an acre.<ref name="Jancis"/> Outside of the United States, the variety can also be found in [[Australia (wine)|Australia]], [[Argentina (wine)|Argentina]], [[Chile (wine)|Chile]], [[Israel (wine)|Israel]] and [[South Africa (wine)|South Africa]].
==Rubired==
'''Rubired''' is a hybrid of the ''vinifera'' variety [[Tinto Cão]] and [[Alicante Ganzin]], which itself is a hybrid of ''[[Vitis rupestris]]'' [[Armon Rupestris Ganzin No. 4]] and the ''vinifera'' crossing [[Alicante Bouschet]]. Trial breeding and testing were completed by Olmo in 1958.<ref name="Jancis"/>
Like Ruby Cabernet, it was bred to produce significant [[yields (wine)|yields]] in hot climates, and in the California Central Valley it regularly yields 8 to 10 tons per acre. However, Rubired is a ''[[teinturier]]'' variety with [[color of wine|pigmented]], instead of clear, juice. Most red wine grapes have clear juice, the red color of wines coming from [[maceration (wine)|extraction of pigment from the grape skins]]. Rubired was originally intended for producing [[fortified (wine)|fortified]] [[port wine|port-style wines]], and since the late 20th century, producers in Australia have included it in some port-style blends. Its intensely dark color is often useful in blending to intensify the color of other red wines, but it can also be used to create [[varietals|varietal]] wines.<ref name="Jancis"/>
==Emerald Riesling==
Emerald Riesling is a white wine grape crossing between the ''vinifera'' varieties [[Riesling]] and [[Muscadelle]]. Trials on the variety began in 1936 and the variety was released in 1948 at the same time as Ruby Cabernet. Unlike many of the cool-climate Riesling crossings produced in [[Germany (wine)|Germany]] at facilities like [[Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute]], the Emerald Riesling was bred for warm climates like the [[San Joaquin Valley]] of California where today more than half of all Emerald Riesling plantings are found. Outside of California, there are limited plantings in South Africa.<ref name="Jancis"/> It is also used quite extensively in Israel, where big wineries use it to produce light, and aromatic - usually off-dry - wines. It comprises roughly 2.6% of the total grape production in Israel, totaling (in 2012) 1,408 tons.<ref name="Israel Wine Board">[http://www.wineboard.co.il/_Uploads/dbsAttachedFiles/BatzirMale2012.pdf] Israel Wine Board, 2012</ref>
According to wine expert Jancis Robinson, Emerald Riesling produces an aromatic, high [[acid (wine)|acid]] wine that does not quite have the flavor definition more commonly associated with Riesling or its cool climate crossings. In cooler climate areas where it has been planted, such as the [[Monterey AVA]], it can share some traits with Riesling but with a distinctly fuller body.<ref name="Jancis"/>
Emerald Riesling is also known under the synonyms California 1139 E 29, Emerald Rizling, and Riesling Izumrudnii.<ref name="VIVC">[http://www.vivc.de/datasheet/dataResult.php?data=3894 Emerald Riesling], [[Vitis International Variety Catalogue]], accessed 2010-07-15</ref>
==Other wine grapes==
[[File:Carignan close up.jpg|right|thumb|Dr. Olmo frequently used Carignan ''(pictured)'' in his crossings.]]
*Carnelian is a crossing of the ''Vitis vinifera'' Carignan and a separate ''vinifera'' crossing between Cabernet Sauvignon and [[Grenache]]. It was created in 1972 to combine the genetic traits that allow Carignan and Grenache to produce well in warm climates with some of flavor and wine characteristics of Cabernet Sauvignon.<ref name=" grape variety creation "/>
*Centurian (also known as '''Centurion''') is a ''vinifera'' crossing between Carignan and a separate crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. The grape was developed by Dr Olmo in 1975 matching the same grape varieties used to produce the Carnelian grape a few years earlier. Today it is mostly planted in the Central Valley of California.<ref name="wine grapes">J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 46 Oxford University Press 1996 {{ISBN|0-19-860098-4}}</ref>
*[[Flora (grape)|Flora]] is a crossing of two ''vinifera'' varieties, [[Semillon]] and [[Gewürztraminer]], that was created in 1938 by Dr. Olmo at the [[California Agricultural Experiment Station]].<ref name="Robinson pg 109">J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Course'' Third Edition pg 109 Abbeville Press 2003 {{ISBN|0-7892-0883-0}}</ref><ref>[http://www.vivc.de/datasheet/dataResult.php?data=15218 Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Flora (blanc)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405172708/http://www.vivc.de/datasheet/dataResult.php?data=15218 |date=2012-04-05 }}, accessed on October 20, 2008</ref> A separate red Flora hybrid exist but it is not related in any way to the Olmo Flora.<ref>[http://www.vivc.de/datasheet/dataResult.php?data=4146 Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Flora (rouge)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405172714/http://www.vivc.de/datasheet/dataResult.php?data=4146 |date=2012-04-05 }}, accessed on October 20, 2008</ref>
*[[Royalty (grape)|Royalty]] is a crossing of the ''Vitis vinifera'' [[Trousseau gris]] variety from the [[Jura wine]] region of [[France]] and the teinturier grape [[Alicante Ganzin]] that, itself, is a hybrid of a ''[[Vitis rupestris]]'' variety and the ''Vitis vinifera'' grape [[Aramon (grape)|Aramon]].<ref name="Robinson">J. Robinson ''Vines Grapes & Wines'' pg 226 Mitchell Beazley 1986 {{ISBN|1-85732-999-6}}</ref> The variety was first developed in 1938 but wasn't released for commercial use until 1958 when it was released with Rubired.<ref>J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 161 Oxford University Press 1996 {{ISBN|0198600984}}</ref>
*Symphony is a crossing of the ''vinifera'' varieties [[Muscat (grape and wine)|Muscat of Alexandria]] and [[Grenache gris]]. that Dr. Olmo first began developing in 1948. It took over 30 years to complete crossing trials and produce a viable cultivar. Symphony was finally completed and introduced commercially in 1981 and [[patent]]ed in 1983. The grape makes a white wine with a slight spiciness with [[tree fruit]] [[aromas (wine)|aromas]] of [[citrus]], [[apricot]] and [[peach]].  It is primarily a blending grape but can be made into a [[varietal]] wine.
==See also==
*[[Seibel grapes]]
*[[Rogers' Hybrids]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Hybrid grape varieties}}
{{American wine}}
[[Category:Hybrid grape varieties]]